i just got a 1990 civic DX 4-door.

how do i find out what engine i have ?

----

the car runs good, sounds good, starts 'sometimes'.. if it wont start, i let it sit for 10 mins and it starts ok..

also smokes, but only when i've really got my foot down..

appears to be 'traces' of oil around a couple of the spark plugs..

are these things all related ?

any ideas on a fix for the oil around the spark plugs ?

anything i can/should do to my engine while i'm fixing that that'll help me start the 'pep up my daily driver' process ?

thanks in advance..

chris

 

how do i find out what engine i have ?
Look at the front motor mount and then look about 1" up at the block, theres a stamp on it, if its stock then i believe its the d15.


the car runs good, sounds good, starts 'sometimes'.. if it wont start, i let it sit for 10 mins and it starts ok..
could be the battery or the starter going.

also smokes, but only when i've really got my foot down..
do a search on compression check, this will give you an idea on the condition of your motor

appears to be 'traces' of oil around a couple of the spark plugs..
are these things all related ?
If oil is getting into your combustion chamber past your plugs somehow then yes you could be burning oil which would cause smoke.

any ideas on a fix for the oil around the spark plugs ?
The O ring seals on your valve cover are probably gone, go to honda and buy 4 of em and replace them, take off the valve cover and its just a easy pull and replace job.

anything i can/should do to my engine while i'm fixing that that'll help me start the 'pep up my daily driver' process ?
Timing belt, replace fluids, new wires, plugs, normal maintenance.

thanks in advance..

chris

 

I couldn't have said it better than WuShu.

 

D15b2.

worth tuning ?

maybe look for a d16a6 ?

i'm NOT going for drag king.

just want to add as much pep to my daily driver as possible without spending too much, or having to take a course in electronics.. heh

(car itself was $500)

btw.. thats a ton of info you gave me.. thank you..

chris

 

Probably the best modification for the money you can do to that d15b2 is a DPFI to MPFI swap. Practically makes it a d16a6. Adds a lot of pep and can be had for relatively cheap. Theres a ton of topics on this site about it. Just do a search and I'm sure you'll find what you need. I believe you will need a complete Civic/CRX Si intake manifold, Si ECU, Si Distributor and an Injector Resistor box.

I could be wrong though. I was going to do this a while back but instead got a whole new engine swap, so my memory isnt that great.

 

thanks, i'll start looking into that.

some would tell me to start looking into brakes/suspension as well before i go too far with the engine..

being new to the 'import' thing.. what are the accepted brands to start looking at ?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the car runs good, sounds good, starts 'sometimes'.. if it wont start, i let it sit for 10 mins and it starts ok..
could be the battery or the starter going.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

that is most likely the main relay. Is the starter cranking over and the engine just not catcing and firing up? that would be a sign of a bad main relay.

 

yes, cranks and cranks.. just wont fire..

and it's only happened twice out of like 15 times since i've owned it (bought it last night)

happened once last night as he was showing it to me, and once today here at work when i wanted to leave for lunch. i had some running around to do this afternoon (plates, insurance, etc) and it fired right up probably 5 or 6 times since, with no problem. *shrug*

i'm going to pick up some o-rings tonight and pop the valve cover off.. hopefully start getting that smoking problem taken care of..

 

you said that you didn't want a drag king so why would you need to upgrade brakes? unless it's for your own pleasure. Other wise you won't be getting that much hp out of a d15 with limited mods to need better brakes. Suspension depends.

 

It shouldn't smoke from valve cover rings leaking.
That oil only gets onto the upper half of the spark plug. It doesn't get into the combustion chamber, get burnt, and smoke. The spark plug threads keep that oil sealed out. If they didn't then you would have serious compression issues.

Seems more like you have worn piston rings, or maybe something simple like a gummed up PCV.

 

&lt;-- newbie..

gummed up pcv ?

5th post, and as i understand it trial's only get 5 a day..

so i'll make sure to say thanks again..

i think i've got at least a few things i need to do to get this motor back into shape, before i worry about swaps and MPFI's and such..

i may have more newbie questions coming, but while i'm getting started putting some life back in my engine, its time to start reading.. heh

thanks guys..

oh, and a 90 DX sedan 'is' an EF, right ? (i'm still unsure about all those codes..)



Modified by terminaloverlowd at 5:33 AM 5/19/2004

 

EF code is the chassis code for all the japanese domestic market (JDM) civics and CRX's

ED refers to the USDM versions of these cars.

 

ahh..

what is this gummed up pcv thing ?

(going to do a search)(search didn't help much)

(found it. going to check mine out now.)

i'm going to be opening the valve cover tonight to change out the o-rings around the plugs..


Modified by terminaloverlowd at 7:57 PM 5/19/2004


Modified by terminaloverlowd at 8:27 PM 5/19/2004


Modified by terminaloverlowd at 10:17 PM 5/19/2004

 

ok..

switched out the PCV..

it was black on both ends, soot everywhere, and the hose coming off the top of it had black soot falling out of it, and the end of it (hose) even broke off when i tried to pull it off of the PCV.. it's crusty, brittle and DEFFINATLY is getting replaced tomorrow..

next question:

with the PCV / hose in that condition, does that give any more ideas of what is causing my smoking (which didn't go away) , and/or, are there other things that this sheds light on that might be in horrid condition..

this engine has 275k on it.. if it's going to be an asspain to go through and replace a bunch of menial stuff just to get it back into shape, should i just start looking for a D16 ? besides ebay, are there good places to 'shop around' for motors, etc ?

thanks.. i'll try to limit my newbieness to stuff i can't find info on by searching and reading.. but as new as i am with engines (import 'or' domestic) sometimes common knowledge can't be searched.. heh

 

[QUOTE=this engine has 275k on it[/QUOTE]

Thats the problem dont take this the wrong way but you should be happy at almost 300,000 your engine ONLY smokes.

If you want it to be solid and you dont want to put a new engine in it, youll need to do a complete rebuild. but it would be cheaper to get a new engine. faster to throw in a new d15 then to rebuild one too unless you have lots of free time.

 

this is kinda where i am leaning..

be happy with what i got for $500.

find D16B6, and swap it in..

do moderate mods and learn..

then maybe work toward an eventual B-series swap..

know any good classifieds/websites to look for a D16 ?

 

Welcome newbie from one to another....

First off, you probably have a D15B2, the same thing that came in my DX hatch. Mr_Crx has it right with the MPFI swap, it made a big difference in mine. I have a complete write-up on doing the swap at another site. (see link below) The pics don't show up on the write up since the picture hosting expired, but E-mail or PM me and I'll gladly send em to you. Add a header, intake, and Si cam, and your little D15 should give you the pep your looking for in a daily driver, without the need to swap to a D16. (you did say you didn't want to be drag king.... )
If you want to tweak things a little more, add a D16Y8 manifold, and an Integra LS Throttle Body for more flow. Still want more ? ..... then add a Vtec head from any SOHC d series motor (called a "mini me" swap)

Oh yeah, at that milage a Rebuild would help too

As you can see there are lots of thins to do for "pep", search around the site a little and you'll find info on all of this stuff

The brakes: I don't know about your DX brakes, but a lot of us 2 door guys usually look for EX four door brakes for swaps, since they're slightly larger than the 2 door versions, and they bolt right up. Like I said I don't know if this holds true for all 4 doors or just the EX.... Throw some power slot rotors on, and some decent pads and that should suffice.

Hope this helps.....

oh yeah, the MPFI swap link.......
http://sohchonda.com/ipw-web/b...=1735

 

well, after driving it a few days, i may be up to doing the work toward 'drag king'..

as far as the rebuild/swap thing goes.. from what i've seen so far, i think it's going to be cheaper to swap in a D16 than rebuild the D15 i've got, at 275K miles. heh

good stuff though.. here's where i'm going to show some newbie-ness..

if i swap in a D16, it's already got the vtec MPFI, right ? or are those two totally different things ?

is it possible (or worth it?) to do a turbo setup on a D16 ?

 

ok.. your simpilest swap would be a d16a6 (Civic/crx Si Engine from 88-91). It will swap right into your car and even use the same transmission (I hope you have a manual car!). Since the d16a6 is a MPFI engine and you are DPFI you will have to change some wiring around. Basically do the wiring needed for a MPFI swap then bolt in the engine and plug in all the connectors. Use a 90-91 pm6 (90-91 civic/crx Si ecu). 90-91 d16a6 engine as it will make wiring a little easier.

 

yea, that's what i'm gonna do..

just need to find a decent D16A6

where's the best place to look for one online ?

(i'm going to do some local heap-yard walking this weekend)


Modified by terminaloverlowd at 10:24 PM 5/20/2004

 

Ok - you are saying you don't think the rebuild will cost as much as just swapping in a D16A6. A D16A6 can be found for cheap, but of couse the engine is no newer than 1991. You are going to want to rebuild it anyway - ESPECIALLY is you plan to add a turbo!

I would suggest you go ahead and find a D16A6 just as you are planning to do. Also, find the transmission that goes with it - commonly called the Si tranny. Get the A6 engine rebuilt with whatever ammount of turbo boost you plan to add in the future. With a simple 6~8 psi you can get away with stock internals (pistons, rods, and stuff). Going upwards in boost, you will need to start considering aftermarket parts like rods, forged pistons, and stuff that makes your $ go bye-bye.

In the meantime, drive your D15 into the ground. Do a decent tune-up and get it running the best you can without any major work.

Since you will have the A6 getting worked on, you will have the A6 multi point intake manifold at your disposal! Do the DPFI to MPFI to your D15 car while you wait for the D16 engine (you'll need the complete intake manifold, distributor, and ECU). This will get you ready to go when the time comes and you will have added a little more pep to your engine.

You could ditch the whole turbo idea and shoot for just a little more power than what you have and stick with a stock engine. I would suggest the D16Z6 for this idea. I would also look for a rebuild to one of these motors as well since the newest one you will find is from 1995... 9 years old.

 

(boy that newbie 5 posts in 24 hrs thing is a pain)

4drEF -

that is an excellent suggestion. in fact, i think that's what i'm going to do when i find a D16A6.. i'll be able to do swap the top on (is that a mini-me conversion?) and do some minor work (replace piston rings, a few bad hoses, maybe wires and plugs) and i should get a little pep and a little extra life out of that D15..

in the meantime, like you said, i can do my learning, reading, and build that D16 up exactly how i want. with the electric done for the MPFI, then really when it's ready, all i have to do is unbolt, pull, swap, and rebolt, right ?

also.. someone mentioned i/h/e.. if i do i/h/e for the D15, how much of that can i keep for the D16, (if i were to do it 'after' i did the MPFI) ?

thanks again.. this board is great..

 

You can keep all the I/H/E from the D15 to the D16.

The D16A6 head on the D15 block is not a mini-me. The D16A6 is a non-VTEC engine. A mini-me uses a VTEC head on a non-VTEC block.

Putting the A6 head really won't gain you a whole lot. You will have to replace the head gasket when you do this and you would probably want to replace the timing belt, water pump, intake manifold gasket, and exhaust manifold gasket as well. That's about $120 in parts. The actual cylinder head casting for the D15B2 and D16A6 are exactly the same. The only difference to be found is the cam. Swapping the head might be a good idea if you do it along with the MPFI swap and a header. Then you can tear down the D15 head and put in an aftermarket D16 cam and whatnot in preperation to go on the rebuilt D16A6 block.

 

ok.. so i pick up a D16A6, replace a few things (piston rings, some of the things, you've mentioned, etc) on my D15, put on the D16 head, and do i/h/e.. i may not have gained much, but i've put a little life back into a D15 with 275K miles that smokes like hell if i get on it (it's fine if i drive normally)..

I drive this way while i'm rebuilding the D16..

I work on the D16 and new tranny, taking my time, learning, spending the money on perf. parts so that it's nice and strong, and ready for healthy turbo..

when it's done, i swap it in..

from the sounds of it, i'm not going to actually gain that much ? or was that comment directed toward the D15 with D16 head while i was building the D16 ?

the more i think about it, and the more i drive my 'new to me' little civic, the more i'm leaning toward all out speed. it'll be nice to do a little work and get what i've got running smooth again.. but i'm pretty sure in the long run that i want to start work toward a really fast motor, once i've taken care of the smoking, and anything else i find that needs imediate attention..

sounds kinda like the D16A6 isn't a good option for this. is that correct ?